Lowell doping out plan to limit medical-marijuana sales

LOWELL -- Nearly one month after voters approved legalizing medical marijuana, local officials are putting the final touches on restrictions that would limit where the drug can be sold in the city.

Lowell joins several other Massachusetts communities that are seeking to put restrictions on medical-marijuana dispensaries before the law takes effect next month.

The goal, said Assistant City Manager Adam Baacke, is to ensure these dispensaries do not pop up in residential neighborhoods or near public libraries and schools. City officials also want to prevent more than one dispensary from opening in the same vicinity, said Baacke, in order to prevent them from "clustering."

The new zoning amendment, which is being crafted with input from the city's law, planning, health and police departments, could be finished as early as this week. It would then need to be reviewed by the Planning Board and approved by the City Council.

"If the city didn't take any action, and someone challenged a ruling we made, we may have some exposure," Baacke said.

Wakefield and Reading have already approved a local ban on marijuana dispensaries. Other communities, such as Framingham, Quincy and Boston are also exploring restricting where the dispensaries can be located.

The ballot question, which 63 percent of voters favored, would allow use of medical marijuana for patients with recommendations from physicians.

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Those patients could purchase pot or grow their own without facing state penalties.

The law takes effect Jan. 1. The state Department of Public Health will then have 120 days to clarify how much marijuana patients will be eligible to receive and where 35 marijuana dispensaries scheduled to open by the end of next year will be located.

Not all communities are as eager to address the issue. Leominster Mayor Dean Mazzarella doubts the North Central Massachusetts community of 40,759 residents will be targeted as a site for a dispensary.

"How many can there be? Is there going to be one on every corner?" he said. "I just think enough of the bigger areas will have them, the bigger cities."

In Tewksbury, Selectman Douglas Sears said Tewksbury Hospital would be a suitable place to locate a marijuana dispensary. He said town officials have yet to consider zoning changes to address the issue.

"It has a pharmacy. It's already run by the state. And it has the safeguards of its own campus police, plus we have the Tewksbury police," Sears said of the hospital. "The state is already heavily involved in the administration of controlled substances at that location."

As of now, Fitchburg does not have any proposals for zoning changes, according to a statement from Mayor Lisa Wong. Because the city's current zoning ordinance is silent on the issue of marijuana dispensaries, Wong said the Planning Board will likely review it at some point in the future.

In Lowell, Health Director Frank Singleton, is raising concerns about the prospect of residents growing marijuana plants in their apartments. He said the specialized lights and humidifiers required to properly grow the plants could create headaches for landlords.

"It creates the potential for fire hazards, mold, trouble with water," he said. "These issues have not been addressed at the state level at all."

Eighteen states and the District of Columbia now have medical-marijuana programs. Another 16 states, including Massachusetts, have decriminalized the possession of small quantities of the drug.

The Massachusetts Medical Society is calling on the state to develop a clear set of regulations and guidelines for implementation of medical marijuana here.

The medical society, which represents about 24,000 Massachusetts physicians, is promising to work with the state Department of Public Health and Board of Registration in Medicine to establish rules for doctors.

The organization, which opposed the ballot question, said it would advocate that marijuana registration cards only be provided after a determination is made that a patient's pain or symptoms cannot be treated with conventional therapies.

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